Europe

MOSCOW, September 13. /TASS/: The price of gas in Europe exceeded $760 per 1,000 cubic meters on Monday, according to the ICE exchange.

Thus, the price of the October futures on the TTF hub in the Netherlands reached $760.4 per 1,000 cubic meters, or 61.32 euro per MWh.

Earlier on Monday, the price of natural gas in Europe has already exceeded $730, $740, and $750 per 1,000 cubic meters.

VIENNA, Sept 12 (Reuters) - The U.N. atomic watchdog reached an agreement with Iran on Sunday to solve "the most urgent issue" between them, the overdue servicing of monitoring equipment to keep it running, raising hopes of fresh talks on a wider deal with the West.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi obtained the agreement in a last-minute trip to Tehran he called "constructive" before a meeting of his agency's 35-nation Board of Governors this week at which Western powers were threatening to seek a resolution criticising Iran for stonewalling the IAEA.

Sept 12 (Reuters) - UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will attempt to patch up Britain’s frayed relationship with U.S. President Joe Biden's administration at a White House meeting between the two leaders this month, The Times newspaper reported on Monday, citing sources on both sides.

Johnson is expected to hold talks with Biden during a four-day trip to the U.S. for the UN general assembly, which starts in New York on Sept. 21, the report said.

GENEVA, Sept 13 (Reuters) - The United Nations' rights chief lamented on Monday that efforts to gain access to China's Xinjiang region to probe reports of serious violations against Muslim Uyghurs have not succeeded, adding that she was finalising a report on the situation.

"I regret that I am not able to report progress on my efforts to seek meaningful access to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region," Michelle Bachelet said at the opening of the Human Rights Council on Monday in Geneva.

BERLIN (AP) — Germany is seeing its first three-way contest for the chancellery, with the environmentalist Greens joining the country’s two traditional big parties in fielding a candidate.

Chancellor Angela Merkel said nearly three years ago that she wouldn’t seek a fifth four-year term. That set up the first election since West Germany’s inaugural vote, in 1949, in which there is no incumbent seeking re-election.

GENEVA (AP) — The United Nations is hosting a high-level donors conference on Monday to drum up emergency funds for Afghanistan after last month’s Taliban takeover of the country that stunned the world.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was leading the world body’s call for more than $600 million for the rest of this year in a “flash appeal” for Afghans after their country’s government was toppled by the Taliban and U.S. and NATO forces exited the 20-year war in a chaotic departure.

STRUGI KRASNYE RANGE /Pskov Region/, September 12. /TASS/: The Pskov formation of the Russian Airborne Forces conducted a landing of more than 600 service members and 30 units of military hardware at nighttime for the first time as part of the Zapad-2021 Russian-Belarusian joint strategic exercises.

WARSAW, September 11. /TASS/: The German government backs the Nord Stream 2 project, but sees its concern that Ukraine would continue to be a transit country for Russian gas, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said at a joint news conference with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Saturday.

"We did focus on energy ties as well, on the issues related to Nord Stream 2. I made it clear again that it is our concern that Ukraine remains a transit country for Russian gas," she said.

"This is what our agreement with the US is aimed at," Merkel added.

MINSK, September 12. /TASS/: Belarus is planning to purchase more than $1 billion worth of weapons from Russia, potential supplies of S-400 missile systems to the country are being discussed, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko told reporters on Sunday, BelTA news agency reports.

"The western direction of Belarus is now fully covered by S-300 missile systems. But we now have the southern direction," SB. Belarus Segodnya newspaper quotes Lukashenko as saying.

MOSCOW, September 12. /TASS/: Russia’s coronavirus cases rose by 18,554 to reach 7,140,070 in the past 24 hours, the anti-coronavirus crisis center said on Sunday.

According to data from the crisis center, Russia’s coronavirus growth rate was 0.26%.

In particular, 1,597 cases were reported in St. Petersburg followed by the Moscow Region (718), the Sverdlovsk Region (506), the Rostov Region (472) and the Samara Region (470).

Currently, there are 557,664 active cases of the coronavirus in Russia.